Two things the Nigerian government must focus on

Apr 05, 2022|Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Jr.

Have you ever gone on the “Visit Rwanda” website before?

It's an excellent advertisement for the country. If you weren’t considering going there for a holiday or looking to invest, you could be swayed by the site. It's not so surprising. This is a country that has “Visit Rwanda” multi-million dollar sponsorship deals with Arsenal and PSG football clubs.

Clearly, they are serious about tourism and investment.

Key takeaways:

Every government has two main roles: redistributing wealth and creating an environment for the private sector to thrive in
Nigeria’s government has historically focused on using oil revenue for government spending. As a result, Nigeria has one of the weakest tax systems among its peers.
Without proper rule of law, security, and basic infrastructure, the private sector has little hope of growth.

This is in stark contrast to our good friends in the Nigerian government. Unlike most African countries, we don’t even have an official tourism website. For those looking to travel from the UK, there is the sorry excuse of the UK-Nigeria High Commission page. I am not exaggerating when I say it looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 90s. Most of the content, including information about the economy and our culture, is over a decade old.

The website doesn’t even have security certification. Meaning it is not secure, and your browser will warn you against putting any personal or private information on the website. That’s very poor for a website that is meant to be processing information for passports and visas.

It’s a reflection of what you go on to experience at the embassy in London and perhaps what would then follow when you land at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

For those that haven’t noticed, websites have become my new barometer for judging several issues. And in this instance, it's clear that Nigeria’s government doesn’t care about its tourism or how it's perceived by foreigners.

But the interesting thing about tourism or a country with a good brand is that it highlights how well